2020: Year in Review

2020…what was that!?   

It has been a tough year for so many, and we are thankful to still be in a position to help where we can: by facilitating and providing rental assistance to our residential and retail tenants, by making our buildings to be more pandemic resistant and prepared, by supporting our property management teams who have been working harder than ever, by working from home to stop the spread, and rooting for all the healthcare workers and public servants. 

Amidst the focus on our residents, tenants, and partners in this new reality; we’ve also tried to keep looking ahead; recognizing that continuing to build, vision, and plan for the future are also incredibly important to the communities where we work. So, we’re especially proud of the things we’ve been able to accomplish this year throughout the Commonwealth:

• Reading - Ace Flats in Reading is well under construction, with the model unit opened this month. We’re excited to cut the ribbon this summer and bring 55 more mixed-income households to a beautiful and growing transit oriented downtown. The building will feature an elevated, southern facing courtyard and numerous apartments with private decks.

• Williamstown - As soon as buyers could tour them, the stunning Riverhouses and Modern Mill designed by MERGE, located along the Green River within walking distance to Williams College were sold out. The ability to work remotely while enjoying the outdoors and all the cultural opportunities will only widen the appeal of the Berkshires in the coming years, and we’re excited to continue to build on our decades of work in the area.

• Hamilton - In the spring of 2020, as we were adjusting to working from home and conducting public meetings via Zoom, we secured the rights, and later in the year, the funding through the Community Scale Housing Initiative, to develop an 18-unit mixed income, mixed use building in the heart of Hamilton’s downtown. The project represents a long-time vision of the town to add sorely needed, well-located, well-designed affordable housing to their community. We’re looking forward to a groundbreaking in the Spring of 2021 and the project is being designed to passive house standards.

• Chelsea - We received funding in late 2020 from the Department of Housing and Community Development to advance our 38-unit mixed income project on the banks of the Mill Creek at the gateway between Revere and Chelsea. We’ll be shooting for a groundbreaking in the Summer of 2021, and this one is also being designed to passive house standards.

• Boston - Finally, it continues to be an honor to work with our non-profit clients (United South End Settlements, Children’s Services of Roxbury, YES, to name a few) as they have quickly adapted to serving their kids and families in a pandemic. Our work with each continues to be focused on getting their real estate to best advance their mission, and this year that meant adapting to a new early education operating model, to a new retail and economic development environment, and to a new funding environment.

2019: Year in Review

2019 was another fantastic year for Traggorth Companies. We had projects at every stage in the development process moving forward, delivering a transformative impact to the communities where we work. And as promised in last year’s update, we partied hard this past spring at Dan and Gen’s beautiful Maine wedding.

• In April we dipped our toe into Worcester by acquiring the smallest, most complex project we could find. While the conversion of the former Mission Chapel, near Union Station and the new WooSox ballpark into seven high end residential units will take every design and finance tool in the toolbox, we think this beautiful building with an important history is worth it.

• This fall we cut the ribbon at the Granville in Haverhill, completing construction on our second Haverhill adaptive reuse of a shoe factory along Washington Street (the first being JM Lofts). The 24 lofts are all spoken for and we’re looking forward to finding the perfect tenant for the 3,000 square feet of retail space in 2020.

• Travelling down the Haverhill commuter line to Reading, we broke ground on 24 Gould Street. Permitted under the Commonwealth’s smart growth incentive program, this project adjacent to the train stop with its 55 apartments (25% affordable) and 3,500 square feet of retail is a poster child for smart growth, transit oriented design, that Boston desperately needs.

• We’re close to wrapping up construction of the Riverhouses and Modern Mills at Cable Mills, 8 river front homes in Williamstown, Massachusetts. We cannot wait to unveil these spectacular homes in early 2020 with their massive windows, riverfront location, mountain views, and decidedly modern aesthetic. Meanwhile, the buzz around the Northern Berkshires as a great place to live, work, and play grows.

• In one of the more heartburn inducing experiences of 2019, we successfully permitted our next Chelsea project which will bring 38 affordable apartments and more than 5,000 square feet of open space along the Mill Creek. We look forward to securing the necessary financing in 2020 and starting construction in 2021.

• Last but not least, a big part of what we do on a day-to-day basis involves helping our non-profit clients align their real estate to their mission and vision. In 2019 we were honored to work with so many organizations doing good work in the Commonwealth. To name a few they are: United South End Settlements, YES, East Boston Social Centers, Southwest Boston Community Development Corp, Roxbury Tenants of Harvard, and the Eliot School.

Thank you all for supporting, encouraging, mentoring, and following our work in the way that you do. We look forward to another exciting year in 2020.

Dave, Dan and Tanya